Building construction



Aug. 15, 1961 E. J. DRlscoLl. 2,995,784

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed April 14, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l l/JVINVENTOR va-*ENE D/FASCQLL,

Aug. 15, 1961 E. J. DRlscoLL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 14, 1955 Patented Aug. l5, 1961 2,995,784 BUILDING 'CNSTRUCTION Eugene J. Driscoll, Bethesda, Md. (406 Kent St., Wausau, Wis.) Filed Apr. 14, 1955, Ser. No. 501,418 2 Claims. (Cl. 20-4) The present invention relates generally to building construction and more particularly to walls and ceilings formed of plaster wall board, such construction being known to the trade as Drywall Construction.

Plaster board has proven to be a more economical building construction than the prior lath and plaster wall `and ceiling construction, and is being used more and more extensively because of its economy. However, there are certain known problems involved in a plaster board ceiling or wall construction, such as cement shrinkage and ridging at abutting edges of the board joints, and nail pop-outs from the wood studs and ceiling beams after the job has been finished and beings to age. This usually results from condition affected cement used to cover nail heads and seal the edge-byedge joints. Also, the usual form of paper tape now used, if covered by synthetic resin emulsions or the like having negligible shrinkage will when wet over a joint crack, sag and blister. Thus the prior art cannot produce a vision perfect joint.

When such shrinking, ridging and nail head pop-outs develop, the only correction possible is to do the job over with the probability of reoccurrence.

An object of this invention is to completely eliminate ridging, nail pop-outs and the like.

Another object is to eliminate the use of vnails and other fasteners.

A further object is to provide a novel system of permanently welding and sealing wall board joints formed between adjacent edge-to-edge wall board sections, whereby a permanently vision perfect joint results.

Still a further object of the invention is to adhesively secure wall board sections to a wall or ceiling frame construction with a rubber base adhesive `and to further seal the joint between wall board sections with a cold welding synthetic resin paste by applying the same to the joint edges and into the joint, and subsequently applying a tape having a series of interstices filled with a synthetic resin, such as a water emulsion of polyvinyl acetate or the like in either wet plastic or liquid form over the base joint filler of paste to produce a finished permanent welded joint capable of final finishing into a permanent imperceptible joint.

A further object is to provide a novel wall board joint tape for use with synthetic resin water emulsions.

Another object is to provide a novel corner joint tape for wall board interior corner constructions.

With the above and other objects and advantages of the invention in View, the invention is best understood by reference to the following drawings, wherein one embodiment of the invention is illustrated.

In the figures:

VFIGURE l is a front elevational view of a wall construction showing three wall board sections mounted, jointed and secured according to the present novel system;

`FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along section line 2 2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a top perspective view of a wall board joint illustrating the rst step for forming a sealed selfwelded joint according to this invention;

FIGURE 4 is a similar view to FIGUR-E 3, showing one form of open mesh tape saturated with a filling and adhesive polymer paste or emulsion applied in the sec- Qnd step for forming the joint;

FIGURE 5 illustrates the final step of joint formation prior to sanding or finishing;

FIGURE 6 is a partial perspective view of one form of novel tape used with my present invention, with the thickness thereof magnified for illustration which is made of weft and woof stands into a fabric;

FIGURE 7 is a second form of tape used for interior corner joints;

LFIGURE 8 is an end elevation of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a third form of tape used for interior corner joints;

.FIGURE 10 is an end elevational view of FIGURE 9; and

FIGURE 1.1 is an illustration of an interior corner joint with the tape applied.

Referring to the drawings and first with particular reference to FIGURE l, there is illustrated the interior of a building wall with vertical studs 8, 8a, 8b, 8c, 8d, Se and 8f and a plurality of wall board sections, such as A, B and C, secured to the front edge faces of eaoh stud by a suitable rubber base adhesive. This rubber base when it becomes set substantially eliminates sound vibrations and chattering. The studs are mounted between top and bottom plates 6 and 7.

The rubber base adhesive is preferably applied to eachV stud in a owable plastic state from a pressure gun, not shown, in continuous elongated beads or strips 9 along the exposed edge of each stud. Then one of the wall board sections, such as A, is pressed against the stud coated rubber base tadhesive strip 9, so as to compress and spread the same, thereby adhesively securing the board to the studs vertically in position. Wall board A extends to the mid-part of stud 8d, which is coated with spaced @apart beads 9 of rubber adhesive so that the under edge surface of board A laps over one of the beads and the other bead is left exposed to come under the adjacent under edge surface of board B. Next the section of wall board B is erected with one edge adjacent to an edge of board A, and applied by pressing the same into position with the adjacent edges of each section A and B substantially in abutting relation against the studs. Then section C is erected and applied with its edge adjacent the opposite elongated edge of section A against the Studs with its opposite edge against an adhesive coated stud Sa in the same manner as done in connection with sections A and B.

When the rubber adhesive becomes set the wall board sections become permanently fixed to their respective studs 8 through 8f, inclusive, without nails or fasteners of any type. The adjacent abutting or substantially abutting edges between each respective section A, B, C, and so on, must be fitted and formed into a permanently imperceptible joint, Which heretofore in the art has never been completely accomplished. However, the present invention by filling this joint with a trowelling of polymer paste 13, see FIG. 3, then covering with a fabric tape 14 having its interstices filled with a similar polymer compound in semi-liquid or paste form, see FIG. 4, and finally skim coating the tape with another layer l5 of polymer paste, see FIG. 5, provides a joint which is completely and permanently concealed and which will not ridge or shrink. Such complete finish is assured because of the quick hard setting action of the polymer paste, which cold welds into a hard surface with solvent evaporation upon application, and is unaffected by moisture, heat or weather conditions as in the case of the prior known slower setting cement for this purpose. Because of the open mesh tape evaporation is accelerated and any vapor pressure under the tape exhausts through the tape, thereby preventing blisters or bulges.

Preferably `a rubber base adhesive is used, such as generally known having reclaimed rubber and using a solvent, such as white gasoline or if required any sui-table non-flammable solvent may in some instances be used to comply with safety regulations.

The polymer joint compound used includes a suitable filler to provide a practical trowel on consistency and may generally include such ingredients as a polymer or ctx-polymer, a solvent, a filler and a plastcizer if needed. More specifically polyvinyl acetate water emulsions are used, such as Elvacet of the E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company, with the addition of fillers to provide body for trowelling, if desired, and of plasticizers to produce toughness and film forming properties. l

As the compound is trowelled on the polymer, which is dissolved by the solvent flow coats and fills the joint, while the solvent, which with polyvinyl acetate m-ay be water, evaporates and the polymer hardens rapidly into a welded mass, to thereby form a permanently welded and rigid wall board joint. This joint then is completed by a bridge or lap of the fabric tape 14 saturated with the polymer compound, which likewise cold welds itself into place in from approximately 30` to 40 minutes as the solvent evaporates therefrom.

Once the polymer substance has thus set, neither heat, moisture, cold or any combinations of such conditions such as are encountered in use, can affect the joint and it may be smooth finished and the wall painted or papered without fear of any later ridging, bulging, or the like, such as in prior drywall construction.

Generally rew'ewing the method of forming the joint, it comprises in combination with the :rubber base adhesive, the following steps, namely applying a coating 13 of a combined filler and a binder, such as a polyvinyl acetate emulsion or its equivalent over the upper edge faces of adjacent board edges and permitting some of the coating to iiow into and seal any space between the respective board edges, until it unites with any upwardly extruded rubber base adhesive. Then while the coating is still soft the fab-ric tape 14 is applied or rolled on the board edges, which tape is saturated with the coating 13, and finally a skim coat 15 is trowelled over the tape 14. This final coating 15 is preferably of the same basic ingredients as coating 13 with an inert filler and a plasticizer land solvent added, as determined during practice, to the hereinbefore referred to Elvacet emulsion. Most of the common ester type plasticizers can be used, for example:

Butyl phthalyl butyl glycolate Diamyl phthalate Dibutyl phthalate Dioarbitol phthalate Triglycol phosphate, and Ti'iphenyl phosphate and variable trowelling consistency can be provided with substances `such as marble dust, calcium carbonate, inert clay, and others, for which the Elvacet is a permanent binder for all conditions of the joint formation encountered in connection with intenior wall joints. Also, in some instances, a modifier to improve water resistance and adhesive properties may be added, such as Arachlor and to maintain any inert filler used in suspension, a wetting agent may be used, such as Igepal.

Referring in detail to FIGURE 6, there is illustrated a joint bridging or lapping tape 14 comprised of weft and woof strands. These strands may be cotton, paper, glass fiber, nylon spineret fibers and the like. When applied to the high adhesive wet coating 13 the coating penetrates through and around the strands and makes a permanent bond with the tape.

In FIGURES 7 and 8 a similar tape is illustrated with an elongated fiexible stiifener member 17, such as wire. This tape is for Weld finishing interior wall board corner joints, see FIGURE ll. For example, the joint is coated with coating 13, the tape is saturated also with coating 13 and the wire 17 is pushed into the corner between boards A and D, thereby longitudinally creasing the tape 16 and i binding to the coating 13. After this is done the final trowel or knife coat 15 is applied.

FIGURES 9 and 10 illustrate a second form of corner tape 18 with a central strip of relatively rigid material, such as kraft paper 19. This form of tape is longitudinally creased axially the length of the strip 19 and applied to the corner in the same manner as tape 16.

The corner tape may be sold in rolls with the tape already corner angled, that is, centrally creased longitudinally.

rIlhus there is provided a novel wall construction substantially free from sound vibrations and chattering, thereby Wall board sections are mounted on a rubber base, secured 'and permanently jointed without fasteners and Without subsequent ridging and joint shrinkage after aging.

Without further description it is believed that the foregoing description is sufficiently complete, and clear to enable any persons skilled in the art to practice the invention. However, it is to be expressly understood that although only one form of the invention is described and illustrated in detail, that parts, arrangements and combinations of parts which may now occur to others are likewise intended to be within the scope hereof. To determine the scope of this invention reference should be had to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A nail free wall construction comprising a plurality of spaced apart studs, a vibration compensating rubber base adhesive `coating on said studs for securing wall board mounted thereon, said rubber base adhesive providing a self-adhering laminate on the exposed surface of each of said studs, wall board sections in edge-to-edge substantially abutting relation adhesively secured to said studs by said rubber base adhesive coating, a stable setting synthetic plastic adhesive having strong bonding and high adhesive qualities covering each of the outer exposed surfaces of each wall board section adjacent each respective edge and filling any space between said opposed wall board edges in superimposed relation to said rubber coating, and a strip of elongated normally flexible open mesh material superimposed upon and secured to said stable setting synthetic plastic adhesive and bridging said opposed wall board edges, said strip being further adhesively secured in place by a skin coating of said stable setting synthetic plastic adhesive and concealed thereby, whereby said stable setting synthetic plastic adhesive prior to setting flows through the interstices of the said mesh material and upon setting forms a rigid joint unaffected by ambient atmospheric conditions.

2. A nail free wall construction comprising a plurality of spaced apart studs, a vibration compensating rubber base adhesive coating on said studs for securing wall board mounted thereon, said rubber base adhesive providing a self-adhering laminate on the exposed surface of each of said studs, wall board sections in edge-to-edge substantially abutting rel-ation adhesively secured to said studs by said rubber base adhesive coating, a stable setting syntheti-c plastic adhesive having strong bonding and high adhesive qualities covering each ofthe outer exposed surfaces of each wall board section adjacent each respective edge and filling any space between said opposed wall board edges in superimposed relation to said rubber coating, and a strip of elongated normally liexible open mesh material superimposed upon said stable setting synthetic plastic adhesive and bridging said opposed wall board edges, said strip being further adhesively secured in place by a skin coating of said stable setting synthetic plastic adhesive and concealed thereby, a second similar wall construction positioned at an angle with respect to said first wall construction thereby providing a corner, and an open mesh of elongated iiexible tape having a centrally secured elongated wire stiffener extending longitudinally of the tape and fitting in the apex of said corner, said longitudinal sides of the tape being adhesively secured on each side surface of said rst and second wall construe'- tions by a second mesh concealing skin coating of said stable setting synthetic plastic adhesive, whereby said stable setting synthetic plastic adhesive prior to setting ows through the interstices of the said mesh material and upon setting forms a rigid joint unaffected by ambient atmospheric conditions.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Lewis Dec. 1, 1908 Absmeier Jan. 24, 1928 Green Feb. 26, 1929 Kellogg Dec. 29, 1936 Eilertsen Feb. 1, 1938 Siebert Feb. 4, 1941 Lyman Mar. 11, 1941 6 Adams Aug. 12, 1941 Crandell Mar, 16, 1943 Speer Mar. 23, 1943 Rheinfrank Ian. 14, 1947 Flanagan Dec. 2, 1947 Elmendorf May 4, 1948 Dildilian Sept. 26, 1950 Dunlap Aug. 31, 1954 Livingston May 28, 1957 Drummond Mar. 24, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Jan. 14, 1953 OTHER REFERENCES Dept., pp. 1-8. 

